Petitioner-attorney Vishal Tiwari was questioned by a bench led by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud about why he had not gone straight to the highest court instead of the Allahabad High Court.
On July 12, the Supreme Court denied a plea asking for the formation of an expert committee to look into the Hathras stampede, which has resulted in over 121 deaths.
Petitioner-attorney Vishal Tiwari was questioned by a bench led by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud about why he had not gone straight to the highest court instead of the Allahabad High Court.
A writ petition to establish a five-person expert group headed by a former Supreme Court judge was submitted to the court on July 3. Additionally, Mr. Tiwari had requested that the court establish safety regulations for public assemblies and large-scale meetings.
The incident had taken place in the Hathras area of Uttar Pradesh during a prayer meeting hosted by Narayan Saakar Hari, a self-described godman. A sizable throng had attended the event.
“This horrifying stampede event raises a number of problems regarding the responsibilities and shortcomings of the State Government and Municipal Corporations. The petition had stated, “The authorities have not only failed to maintain and administer the supervision, but they have also failed to control the crowd gathered for the event.”
It had pleaded with the court to order the Uttar Pradesh government to provide a status report and to file a lawsuit against the individuals responsible for the safety and crowd control measures that were done carelessly.
For the protection of the general people attending such religious or other events in huge numbers, states should establish guidelines to prevent stampedes. The petition had stated that “States should submit reports on medical facilities available at various levels to deal with such stampede or other incidents.”
The Kumbh Mela stampede in 1954, the Mecca Masjid stampede in 2007 that left 16 people dead, the deaths at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in 2022, the deaths during the Dussehra celebrations at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna in 2014, and the deaths of about 104 Sabarimala devotees at Pulmedu in Idukki were all mentioned in the petition.
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